1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to foldable chairs, in general, and to a collapsible cot especially useful for casual seating, in particular.
2. Description of the Related Art
Folding or collapsible chairs in the nature of furniture have been described in such U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,520 (Roher et al) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,406 (Lee). In a multiple seat arrangement, they are also described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,570,928 (Staunton et al). For outdoor use, in camping and watching sports games, chairs of this type have been illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,605 (Chang). When a reclining chair is desired for camping, hiking, fishing and concert evenings, a construction of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,068 (Levine) is said to be useful.
While chairs of these types may prove adequate to suit their intended purposes, a further need exists to have a folding or collapsible cot for simple use in one""s backyard. Those cots (and hammocks, for that matter) that are commercially available are typically large and bulky, and once set out commonly remain in place the entire season, to suffer the travail associated with changing weather conditions.
As will become clear from the following description, a collapsible cot is provided according to the invention, to consist of a frame including two pairs of front crossed legs, two pairs of rear crossed legs, and three pairs of side crossed legs, with each pair of crossed legs being pivotally connected together where they cross. First, second and third front pad connectors are included to pivotally connect to lower ends of the front crossed legs and to individual ones of the side crossed legsxe2x80x94while first, second and third rear pad connectors pivotally connect to lower ends of the rear crossed legs and to individual ones of others of the side crossed legs. First, second and third front connectors pivotally connect to upper ends of the front crossed legs and to individual ones of the side crossed legs, while first, second and third rear connectors pivotally connect to upper ends of the rear crossed legs and to individual ones of others of the side crossed legs. Three rear supports extend between apertures in the three rear pad connectors and the three rear connectors, and a fabric liner is included connected to two of the front connectors and to two of the rear connectors. In completing a preferred construction, moreover, a pair of side extenders are pivotally coupled to one of the front crossed legs and to one of the rear crossed legs, where they are joined with the fabric liner for a user to rest upon.
In accordance with the invention, to provide strength and reliability of operation, the front connectors where the two side extenders couple include a top surface having a notch therein open at one end and slightly larger than the diameter of the crossed legs when composed as a tubular configuration, a first wall at an underside thereof defining one side of the notch and to which the upper ends of the crossed legs are connected, along with a second wall at the underside, generally perpendicular to the first wall and combined therewith, to which the upper ends of the others of the crossed legs are also pivotally connected. In like manner, each of the remaining pad connectors include the two generally perpendicular walls for fastening with their respective pivotally connected legsxe2x80x94while the rear pad connectors include apertures at the joins of the walls where the rear supports are fixed.
As will also become clear, in one embodiment of the invention, the side extenders are each pivotally coupled to their associated front crossed leg and to their rear crossed leg at a point below the connector which joins them, whereas in a second embodiment, the sides extenders are pivotally coupled at a point above the connectors. In this first embodiment, various taps, fasteners, and overlying rings are employed to align the crossed legs and extenders together, and to secure them in position; in the second embodiment, hinges are employed to achieve this comparable result.